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Can the NBA Drive 45?

NBA owners have been pining for a hard salary cap seemingly since the soft cap was put in place back in the early 1980s.  Every time the possibility would rise like a plastic head in a whack-a-mole arcade game, the players’ union would be there to hammer it down and out.

So it came as no surprise to find out that the league’s initial collective bargaining agreement proposal—the details of which were explained in an April 26th memo to the players by union director Billy Hunter—reportedly included demands to institute a $45 million hard cap, cut contract guarantees and significantly reduce annual salary increases. And, likewise, it wasn’t a shock that the players rejected the idea wholeheartedly.

What may surprise some is that the league’s next offer, which was delivered in late April, still insisted upon a $45-million hard cap, a source told The Sports Business Journal‘s John Lombardo. Lakers point guard and union president Derek Fisher dismissed the NBA’s second proposal as being too similar to the original offer, likely because both offers included a 23% reduction in the salary cap. And of course, since the proposal is for a hard cap instead of a soft one, teams would be pressed into making some very difficult decisions with some of their fans’ favorite players.

“The nature of the owners’ demands is so onerous that I feel it is imperative to reinforce the message of our recent team meetings with this letter,” Hunter wrote in the memo, which was quoted by Lombardo.

“Under the hard cap proposal, a team’s total salary may not exceed the proposed hard salary cap for any reason,” Hunter continued. “The important part to keep in mind is that without exceptions provided in our current soft cap system, all players would have to squeeze tightly under a hard (and much lower) cap number.”

Hunter goes on to warn his clients about the NBA’s plans for their current contracts as well. As Lombardo puts it, Hunter tells players about the “league’s effort to alter the structure of current contracts while detailing the owners’ proposal that no player contract be guaranteed for more than 50% for the first $8 million in salary and 25% fro any mount above $8 million.”

“A system-wide change in the nature of guaranteed contracts,” Hunter wrote, "not only would harm players’ economic interests individually, but it would also significantly change the culture of the league collectively.”

A few other proposed changes mentioned by Lombardo:

• Annual contract increases would be reduced to 3% or less for players who’ve earned their Bird rights. (Currently at 10.5%)

• The maximum length of a contract for a player who has earned his Bird rights would be cut from six years to four years.
• Annual contract increases for non-Bird rights players would be reduced to 2% from the current 8%.
• Non-Bird rights players and free agents signing with new teams would only be able to sign contracts for three years as opposed to five.
• Players would be put into one of four categories: A. Minimum Salary Players; B. Rookie Wage Scale Players; C. Maximum Salary Players; D. Someone “fighting for whatever room remains under the new hard salary cap after the three above categories are accounted for.”

So, NBA fans, what does all this mean for you? Well, rest assured that all of this can’t pass. There are two sides to these negotiations, so some of the previously mentioned demands, if true, will be implemented while others will get dropped. Whether a hard cap will ever see the light of day in the NBA is anyone’s guess.

If there is a hard cap, there is still the major issue of what would happen to the current contracts. Would they be grandfathered in to the league’s new financial landscape as antiques from a simpler time? Will teams be forced to gut their rosters in a mad scramble to get under the cap?

One loser in all of this seems to be teams with high salaries who were hoping to add a free agent with either the mid-level or bi-annual exception. A radically new CBA could mean that the HEAT, Celtics and Lakers won’t be able the veteran pieces they need to compete for a title in 2011-2012. There’s also the chance that average NBA players would make only slightly more than fringe players, which could motivate some guys to sign lucrative deals overseas.

It’s still too early to say anything with certainty, but we could be looking at a vastly different league in the near future.

TNT’s Ratings Soar

The good thing about the NBA’s labor situation is that the players are owners will be VERY motivated to get a deal done because they have such a hot product on their hands. TNT just announced that Sunday’s game between the Bulls and HEAT was the most-viewed basketball game in the history of cable television. 11.1 million viewers saw the Bulls drop the HEAT 103-82, so imagine how many people will tune into a highly competitive game.

The previous best was the 2003 All-Star Game, which was Michel Jordan’s final appearance at the mid-season exhibition.

Kevin Johnson Produces “Hollywood-type Moment” for Commissioner, Board of Governors

For the moment, Sacramento Mayor and former Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson has saved the Kings. Whether or not he can keep the team for the long haul has yet to be determined.

Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press caught up with Johnson and discovered that the NBA legend bought himself some time by begging commissioner David Stern for the chance to speak in front of the NBA’s board of governors.

It was at that meeting that Johnson, who had begun gathering cooperate support from within the city, promised the Kings new sponsorship opportunities which was apparently enough for the league to give him another year to reach an agreement on an arena.

“I’ve been around governors and presidents, and what I saw was an unbelievable, almost Hollywood-type moment,” Darius Anderson—a businessman who was in the room for Johnson’s speech—told Gonzalez. “To a person in that room, one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard.

“The momentum shifted right then and there for Sacramento.”

In the days following Johnson’s speech, Stern conducted a conference call with the media in which he complimented the mayor for his ability to persuade local businesses, the team and the league to give the city one more year. He’ll have another year to finish the job, but it’s safe to say that the owners haven’t been so persuaded by an argument from a basketball player in quite some time.

{AUTHOR_BOX}With Doc in, is Baby Out?

Veteran Celtics beat writer Mark Murphy made an interesting suggestion in today’s Boston Herald. Citing forward Glen Davis’ unrestricted free agent status, Murphy wrote that Davis is president Danny Ainge’s “best chip” in a sign-and-trade package.

Why would the Celtics want to deal one of the few offensive threats on their bench? Murphy writes that Davis wants a promotion (to the starting lineup) and a raise (to match his starting status), and that isn’t going to happen in Boston. Davis has also apparently aggravated Rivers, who recently signed a five-year extension, and that doesn’t help his chances for staying on the team.

Obviously the labor situation and the Celtics’ ability to re-sign forward Jeff Green further exacerbate Davis’ predicament. He may be wise to sign a one-year deal to re-establish his value in the new market before looking for a long-term contract in the summer of 2012.

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